With all of the record labels in existence, it probably feels like all the good names have already been taken, right? Furthermore, how do you find the right name to represent your brand and speak to your target audience?
How do you make the final decision?
If you’re struggling to name your record label, don’t worry. You’re in the right place. In this article, I cover some of the top tips for naming your new business and how to make sure the name is legally available for you to use.
Learn more about the record label industry
Helpful Tips and Tricks for Naming Your Record Label
Naming a business is hard, especially if you don’t have any ideas or a place to start. So, before diving in, grab a piece of paper and a pen or open a blank spreadsheet.
Then, use it as a place to brainstorm ideas and write down words or phrases that come to mind as you go through the tips below.
From there, we’ll talk about narrowing things down and landing on the perfect name.
1. Keep It as Short as Possible
Short business names are usually snappier, catchier, and easier to remember. Ideally, you want to stick to two to five syllables and hopefully no more than 25 characters total.
However, the shorter the name, the better.
That said, there are exceptions to this, and it’s not a hard rule. But when you think about huge, notable brands, which ones come to mind?
Nike. Apple. Ikea. Febreeze. Target. Honeywell.
They’re easy to remember because they’re short, simple, and brandable.
Obviously, there are exceptions to these rules. But typically, the shorter and simpler your name, the easier it is for everyone to remember.
2. Avoid Words That Are Hard to Hear and Pronounce
Voice-to-text and voice search is more popular now than ever before. So, it’s important to consider making your name easy to pronounce and hear.
To do this, avoid using:
- Commonly misspelled words
- Complex terms that are hard to spell
- Words that have several pronunciations
- Homophones like to, too, and two
Try to keep things as concise and simple as possible.
3. Consider Music Related Terms
Since you’re opening a record label, including common words used in the music industry might make sense, especially if you’re feeling stuck. It may help to start brainstorming terms, phrases, and words to get all your ideas down on paper.
A few examples of this could include; Audiophile Records, Bassivity Music, Good Vibrations, or Higher Octive.
For a boost of creativity, expand use the thesaurus to find synonyms around the words of what your business does. You can either use the thesaurus function from your word processor or thesaurus.com to develop additional synonyms.
From there, you can cross off bad ideas or any terms you don’t like.
4. What’s Your Specialty?
What musical genre do you specialize in? Maybe you do hip hop or rock or country.
Regardless of your specialty, consider alluding to it in the name of your business.
5. Neighborhoods, Cities, and Nicknames
Including the name of your city, street, or neighborhood is an excellent way to encourage local shopping and create a strong sense of community in your area.
You can also think about nicknames for your city or neighborhood, as well. Here are some examples to use as inspiration:
- East Side Digital Records
- Creole Records
- Albany Recording
With that said, make sure the name you choose isn’t limiting if you decide to move or expand your record label down the road.
List of Record Label Business Name Ideas
Here is a list of existing record label names that may help give you some creative name ideas. While many of these names may be available for you to use, be sure to check first to be sure they can be used.
- American Western Records
- Audio Fidelity
- Audio Ruckus
- B Studios
- Barely Brothers Records
- Bay Eight Studios
- Billinium Records
- Boom Music
- Broadway Records
- Canary Classics
- Chaotic Records
- Classics Music
- Cookie Record Company
- County Line Music
- Darling New Media
- Dash Five Star Studio Corp
- Delphi Records
- Dew Records
- Eight 4 Productions
- Faith Love & Peace Records
- Feral Note Studios
- Ghost Hit Recording
- Good Company Records
- Goose Creek Music
- Graveyard Records
- Ground Up Studios
- High Noon Recording
- Higher Ground 44 Records
- Hub City Studio
- I Love Music Records
- Inpop Records
- Island Records
- Kingheir Music
- Krazy Sound Studios
- Lil Ditty Records
- Major Label Records
- Mastiff Studios
- Modern Blues Recordings
- Music Junkie Studios
- Music Lab
- Music Machinery
- Music Masters
- Music Mastery Unlimited
- Our Generation Music
- Phaedra Records
- Rat Pak Records
- Real Music
- Red Lightning Records
- Repro Records
- Retromix Records
- Rip Squad Entertainment
- Royal Records
- Saturday Drive Records
- Smithsonian Folkways Recording
- Sorry State Records
- Soulmen Records
- Sound Trak
- Spinning Brain Records
- Steezy Society Records
- Studio 5 Hundred
- Sunbrimmer Records
- Swamp Gang Records
- The Music Box
- Trenton Lundy Music
- Triple Exclusive Studio
- Twin Flame Records
- United Record Label
- Universal Music Group
- Warner/Chappell Music Inc
- Wave Up Records
- We The Boss Music
- What’s The Point Productions
Is Your Record Label Name Available to Use?
At this point, you should have several top considerations to choose from. And the best way to narrow it down further is to check each one for availability.
This step is helpful because using a name that someone else is using could be very costly, time-consuming to rebrand your business, and possibly embarrassing. There are several places to look to check whether a name is available to use, so let’s walk through each one.
Can the business name be registered in your state?
If you plan to use a specific business name, you may be required by the state to verify it’s available to use.
Related: How to check business name availability in your state
Is your name already trademarked?
When searching for a name for your new business, you should check that your new name isn’t trademarked by someone else. If it is, you may not be allowed to use it legally.
Thankfully, the United States Patent Trademark Office (USPTO) makes trademark searching a breeze through their Trademark Database.
A name isn’t necessarily available if it doesn’t appear in this search. Every business has some limited protection through a common law trademark. This means another business can’t open up down the street with the same name, as this creates confusion for customers. Also, check local competitors by doing a Google search and looking through the Yellow Pages.
If your name is available and you want to protect it from being used by anyone else, you can register it with the USPTO.
Related: How to check for a trademark
Finding the Perfect Name: Putting It All Together
By now, you should have a lengthy list of words, phrases, and terms you can use in your record label company name. At this point, I highly recommend going through and removing any that are hard to spell or pronounce.
Now, you can start combining pieces together until something stands out. It may help to create a list of potential names you can use. From there, you can narrow things down to your favorites.
But before you make your final decision, your new name must pass a few tests.
Say It Out Loud
Make sure you say your new name out loud. It may look great as a logo, domain name, and on a business card. But it also needs to sound good when you say it out loud.
You can also sit down with someone and talk about your business. Does saying the name in casual conversation sound natural? If not, you may want to consider something simpler or easier to say.
Logo Design
Lastly, think about how to incorporate your new name into a logo. Logos should be simple, memorable, and indicative of your brand.
Take Apple, for example. Their business name is easily incorporated into a logo. And today, it’s a household symbol that everyone immediately recognizes.
A record label logo is an important part of your brand identity, so don’t forget to consider turning your name into a memorable logo as you make your final decision.
Related: How to create a logo for your business.
Hopefully, you now have some catchy name ideas for your record label. Once you have narrowed this list to just a few and researched that they are all available, start asking friends, family, and potential customers their thoughts to get feedback, and then pick your perfect record label name!
